BEGINNING ARCHERY

SAFETY
Archery as a sport is, if conducted properly, perfectly safe. It should, however, always be remembered that the primary purpose of a bow and arrow was to kill, either on the hunt or in war, and so basic safety precautions need to be taken and STRICTLY ADHERED TO.

The Field Captain is in charge. He/she gives instruction when to cross the waiting line, when to start shooting, when to stop, when to approach the target etc. NO-ONE else can give these orders. These instructions are usually given by whistles (which will be explained to you) unless the archery range is situated where other whistles are in use, in which case these instructions will be verbal. The Instructor is in sole charge of their pupil(s) and no-one else, apart from the Field Captain if this is someone other than the instructor, can give any orders. Adults in charge of young pupils must obey the instructor. They must also be prepared to remove misbehaving pupils from the range at the Instructor's request. Pupils waiting their turn must stay behind the waiting line until told by the Instructor / Field Captain to approach the Shooting Line. They must wait QUIETLY so as not to distract the archers on the shooting line. Arrows must only be loaded on the shooting line and only pointed in the direction of the target. If an arrow is accidentally dropped, NEVER cross the shooting line to retrieve it - tell your instructor who will retrieve it for you if it is within reach of a bow, otherwise it will be retrieved when the rest of the arrows are collected. The universal call to halt is "Fast." If you hear "Fast!" called, it is a signal to stop what you are doing immediately. If you have drawn your bow, do not release the arrow but relax the tension on the string and lower your aim to the ground, then when the draw has been relaxed, remove the arrow from the string: this is called "coming down." Place the bow and the arrow on the ground or in the quiver and do not resume shooting until given permission by the Field Captain to do so. "Fast" is the only command which can be given by anyone other than the Field Captain : if anyone sees anything at all which is unsafe, they must call "Fast" immediately and everyone must stop shooting.

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WARMING UP
Archery uses muscles which are not generally exercised in day-to-day life, so it is important that they are warmed-up properly to prevent the possibility of muscle strain.
If the weather is cold, the circulation must be speeded up and overall body temperature raised, by such exercises as running or marching on the spot. The shoulder and neck muscles should then be gently stretched out and turned side to side, back and forwards, up and down, firmly but gently - do not over-stretch or move too quickly and suddenly, and always stop if anything hurts! Side stretches, reaching as high as you can, one side of the body and then the other, and back stretches - reach towards your toes slowly and hold, do not bounce the movement - and finally leg stretches will complete your warm-up.

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EQUIPMENT
Don't go and buy a bow and set of arrows before you start! There are so many different styles of archery and types of bow that you will have to decide what you want after you have done a bsic course. At the most, you may want to buy yourself a finger tab and a bracer (arm guard.) The bracer will keep your sleeve out of the way of the string and protect your arm should you draw incorrectly - you shouldn't hit your arm if you do it properly from the start - and the finger tab will aid you to draw the bowstring and provide a smooth surface for the bowstring to slide on.

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TECHNIQUE

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CONTACTS
International :

FITA - "Fédération Internationale de Tir à L'Arc"

United Kingdom :

Grand National Archery Society National Field Archery Society English Field Archery Association Yorkshire Archery Association

Europe :

Irish Amateur Archery Association

North America :

USA : National Archery Association Canada : Federation of Canadian Archers

Rest of the World :

Archery Australia Archery New Zealand